Embryo Transfer

     Sorry I am posting so late. I didn't do anything while I was on bed rest and I finally went back to work so I have been really trying to chill out once I got home so i could stay relaxed.

     We drove up Saturday afternoon and stayed at the Hampton Inn again since it is literally next door to the surgery center. They had called and changed my appointment to 9 so I didn't have to be there until 8 the next morning. We were the only patient so we hang to ring the doorbell to be let in since they were not open. We got some fluids for me to drink since my bladder had to be full and headed to a room. I got dressed in that lovely gown and my husband got in his scrubs and I took my Valium and signed my consents. We also did my discharge orders then since I would just be waiting an hour for my bladder to fill. Right before I was to go back, the doctor came to talk to me and he gave me a picture of the two embryos they would be transferring. One was an A- and the other was a B+. i didn't have a strong enough urge to pee so they made me finish my water and wait about 15 more minutes so we were a little behind getting started.
     Once it was time, we just walked done to the procedure room and they got me all situated. The embryologist was behind the doctor with the incubator and a microscope. They use a sonogram to help see the catheter to make sure of the placement. The doctor had some trouble because my bladder was not full enough and it was causing a shadow on the screen. He worked and worked to get rid of the shadow so he could see the exact spot he needed. I was getting a little nervous there for a second. He finally got it corrected and it took them mere seconds to load the embryos into the catheter and implant them in me. i could not really see the screen from where I was with all the blankets they had on me, but my husband could. After they were transferred my legs were elevated higher than my head and I had to lay there for 30 mins. While we were waiting I got my last paperwork and the embryologist gave us the dish our embryos had been in. After the wait we got dressed and loaded in the car and the bed rest began. I had to be on bed rest through Tuesday. I was long days just laying there. I could sit up to eat and got to the restroom so that was good. I had good nurses though. The hubs cooked some good dinner and my mom came and cooked me breakfast, my step dad cooked me lunch one day and my grandmother came and stayed with me Tuesday and spoiled me of course. So then the waiting started....

     I got a call from the embryologist on Monday saying we were able to freeze 4 embryos for future use. I was happy to hear that we would have more chances for children without repeating the full protocol and procedures. Oh, they also let me know when we had the transfer that we would have our first blood test on Tuesday (April 2nd). If it is positive then we would repeat the blood test on Thursday to confirm that my HCG levels were rising. I am counting down the days and praying like crazy that this is His will. So please say a prayer for us that this worked but more than that please pray that he will help us through the emotions for which ever the case may be. He orchestrated this perfectly so far and for that I am thankful!

Scheduled for Sunday

     We have to be at the surgery center at 7:30 a.m. on Sunday and my transfer should be at 8:30. I can eat and drink normally but need to drink plenty of water so I will have a full bladder. I will also have to take a Valium once I get there to relax me and my uterus. I was told I would have to stay on the table for 30 mins after the procedure and I will be on bed rest for 72 hours. Keep praying! I love the fact it is happening on a Sunday!

The longest 24 hours

     The wait for my phone call was killing me! I was going stir crazy! But we finally got our call a little after 11. The embryologist said that we had 6 embryos that were a grade A and 3 that were a B+! It's amazing! He said they would not be checking the embryos tomorrow. I will be having a day 5 transfer so that will be Sunday. He said they would call tomorrow to give me my appointment time so I have to work on being patient until Sunday!

Thankful and full of excitement!

     We got all packed up Monday and headed to Memphis. We checked into the hotel and then went and grabbed a good filling dinner. When we got back to the room, a million things were running through my mind. I have never been too excited to have to take a Vallium but considering that I never get any sleep before any regular appointment, I figured I better do as I'm told so I would get some sleep. I am glad I did. I was up all night coughing with this dang sickness I have been fighting for a week. If I had not taken it my mind would have kept going every time my coughing woke me up.
     We arrived at the surgery center a little before our appointment at 7:15. Needless to say, I was a little nervous and anxious. My husband had a little nervous look as well. Luckily, I never have any procedure requiring any medical procedures. I was nervous about being put to sleep and being able to breathe with this congestion. Once I got back there, It was going so fast. Once they got me changed and hooked up to my IV fluids and antibiotics, they let my husband come back there with me. It didn't feel like we were back there any amount of time because so many people had to come in and meet with us. Once the last person met with us, we said our good byes and i walked to the procedure room (a little later than 8:15).
     They warned me that once they gave me sedation meds, I would be asleep within 15-20 sec. I laid  on the table and she she started wrapping my legs. Another lady put a couple monitors on me and then she said she started the meds. She was right...I was out! I do remember feeling something during the procedure once but it wasn't too bad just a little pain and lots pressure. I kinda remember waking up at the end and them talking to me. I don't know what they said to me but I think i said a couple times that my husband had better done a good job with his part. Leave it to me to say it. The only thing I remember they said was that they retrieved 17 eggs (which recovery nurse later confirmed).
     I think I got back to the recovery area about 9. The sedation was wearing of almost instantly it felt. I had been told I had to drink and pee before I could go so as soon as she offered a drink, I took it. My husband got to come back and see me around 9:20. It wasn't long until I got to get dressed and wait in a room with a recliner. As soon as she got a good blood pressure reading, I got my IVF out and had to wait 10 more minutes to leave. They told me I would get a call from the embryologist everyday t gives us an update on our embryos. We will return for as early as Friday and as late as Sunday to transfer two of the embryos.
     The pain was more uncomfortable than anything but felt like more had been jabbed then what was really involved. Coughing was killing me though and felt like a I was going to bust open or something. I had declined pain meds so I knew I would have to deal with it. But in the end it wasn't too bad at all. I did not have really any bleeding either which I was thankful for.
     Last night I started back on Doxycycline (1 twice a day for 4 days) and added Prednisone (3 at once, for 4 days). This morning, I started Crinone which is a gel Progesterone inserted each morning at least until your pregnancy test and continued for a little while if your test is positive. I will also continue my prenatal and Metformin.

We got our first call from the embryologist a little bit ago. It was just a fertilization report and should start getting their grades tomorrow. The embryologist said that 11 or our 17 eggs fertilized yesterday and continued to develop through the night! Woohoo! I'm praying they keep developing! It is common to lose some each day. We are happy and I already can't wait for my call tomorrow! Wish I could insert a praise song here...but as you can tell I am not that great with some of this technology. Thanks be to God! Keep praying! God is Great!

More good news

     Yesterdays trip went well. My husband had to work so my dad and I set out early. I had to be there by 8. Blood was drawn then I went into the sonogram room. She didn't give me specifics. She just said I looked awesome and everything was great.
     When the nurse called that afternoon, she said I was ready! So I stopped my Lupron and Follistim shots last night but I had to mix my HCG and inject it intramuscular at 9:15 last night. I then had to take a pregnancy test and it had to be positive to show that the shot worked. This shot will finish maturing my follicles and get me ready to ovulate. You normally will ovulate 36 hours after the shot so they plan you egg retrieval before you ovulate. So, I am going to Memphis today and will get ready for tomorrow. I am to take a Vallum tonight and no food or drink after midnight. I have to be at the surgery center at 7:15 in the morning. They said to make sure I brought my last payment and my husband. This will cost me $1400 and should complete everything. I am getting excited and am singing praises to God for each step that He has us achieve!

Last two visits

Wednesday (3/13) - My husband worked today so I went to Memphis on my own since they are such quick appointments and so early. They drew a vial of blood and I got a sonogram. When she did the sonogram you could definitely see the follicles better. The ones on my right measured over 10 but the follicles on my right still measured less than 10 mm. They had grown though and she said they were all of similar size in each ovary. The tech also said my lining was thickening and doing what it should be. She said everything looked perfect. I told her I was relieved to hear that since I had not been feeling anything. I had been warned of the pain and uncomfortableness I would experience and I hadn't yet so I was scared it wasn't working. The nurse called later that day and all my meds were kept the same for Wednesday and Thursday.

Friday (3/15) - My husband and I headed out really early again today. I got blood drawn and another sonogram. I had a different tech this time and she counted lower numbers of follicles. I wonder if this is normal. She didn't show any concern over it. She did measure my largest five follicles in each ovary like was done Wednesday. All had grown and the ones on the left were still smaller. Some on my right measured around 14mm. The nurse called this afternoon and said that I would lower my Follistim dose tonight to a 200 unit injection and then lower it to a 175 unit injection tomorrow. She said they wanted them to grow a little more but not too much before I come back in. I am supposed to be back in Memphis at 8am on Sunday morning. I am getting closer so I hope to get my egg retrieval date on Sunday. I will keep you all posted. Please keep sending up all the extra prayers you can spare! God is working this out so beautifully and I am thankful!

A quick trip

     We left a little after 5 this morning to be at our doctor office by 7:30. It was rough considering it was dark the whole way and we had not adjusted to the time change. They called us right back and I only had to get my blood drawn and they gave me my Progesterone gel to start next week. It only took us maybe 10 minutes at the most and we were back on the road. The nurse called later and said that for tonight and tomorrow, my meds would stay the same and I would have to be back on Wednesday between 7:30 and 8 for more blood work and a sonogram.
     I may be wrong but I took at as good news today that my meds were not increased yet. I hope that means my body is responding well to the current dosage. Please keep us in your prayers. Thanks for all the support and text I have been receiving.

Friday 3/8

     We got to leave a little later in the morning because they moved our appointment back to 10:30. My husband was first up. He had to get a semen analysis done there so they could grade it using there measures and know what they will be working with week after next. We then met with the nurse and we went over my scan from Wednesday. I have a total of 48 follicles. She did say that not all of those would grow but we are hoping the majority does. She also stated that it looked like my trial transfer went great. She said I would start my Follistim that night and I would start with 225 units. I will take it once daily in the evening. My husband and I were both started on Doxycycline twice daily for seven days. My Lupron dose was lowered to 5 units and I keep taking my prenatal and Metformin as usual. She said I had an easy protocol and had fewer meds than some require. She did say I had refills if I needed them and I am praying I respond well and don't need them. The one prescription of Follistim was close to $3200 dollars! I am praying we have what we need more but if we do, I will not go with out. I have come too far. The nurse did say I am on a lower dose than the doctor had originally planned because I had so many follicles. My pre-screening test had only shown 14 from last month so he had prescribed a larger dose but reduced it for now.  I also went to the surgery center and met with the anesthesiologist and got cleared for anesthesia the week of the 18th. We have to be back in Memphis at 7:30 Monday morning for blood work and another scan of my ovaries. So should be a quicker trip than the last two. I have been exhausted and in the bed early each night. Please keep praying for us and lifting us up. We need all we can get! Please say special ones for my husband this week. I have been warned that it is normal to want to kill your husband or even throw a block of cheese at him. I hope I don't get this bad but who knows. I hope the Lord helps me hold my tongue and gives him extra patience this week in case I turn into a hormonal monster. :)

Update on the fundraiser at Rosie's, a final count was made and between cupcakes and cash in the donation jar, you all helped raise ..........are you ready?.....You sure?.........$1,153.22!!! Thank you so much to every one! It was such blessing! God works wonders through people!

March 6th appt

     Yesterday, I went for my trial transfer. I did not know until I got there and dying to go to the bathroom that I was unable to do so before the procedure. They have to have a full bladder. They then had me sit in the exam room half naked, having a major hot flash, in a boiling hot room for an hour or a little more before a doctor came in. My mother went with me, and I had her cracking up, I guess it was nerves too. I got up and changed my own paper once because I was sweating some kind of awful and had soaked through that paper.
    When the doctor came in he explained that they did a practice to know exactly how my uterus was shaped and iron all the kink out because on the real day they want to be able to get the embryos into the catheter and implanted into your uterus in less than a minute. He said that he, the nurse, an embryologist and my husband would be in the room. My husband will have to dress out in scrubs to be with me. He said the embryos you be in an incubator being kept warm and in the dark simulating the womb. He said they would be transferring two embryos and I of course said that was fine with me in lightening speed.
     When doing the procedure, he said it went very well and my uterus was nice and it was so easy to insert the catheter. He did a quick measurement and it was over in a flash. It was very quick and was just like having an IUI done so it wasn't anything different from what I have already experienced so it went very smoothly.
     After the doctor finished he wanted to go ahead and do my baseline scan of my ovaries then instead of waiting until tomorrow. So after a short wait I went to another sonogram room. The tech was very nice and friendly. I loved her. She said I had a pretty uterus. :) I said, "thank you... I guess." She immediately asked if I had PCOS and I said yes. She said well you have quite a few follicles in your right ovary. I had 23, woohoo!! When she went to look at the left, it was hiding a bit and harder to see but she said I had a lot in there as well. After she got through counting, I didn't think to ask her the total in the left. I am just happy no matter what. It is all going so well. This appointment made me even more excited and made me realize that it is really happening!

My nurse called today, and since I had already done a couple things and my sonogram was good so they didn't need blood work in the morning so I get to leave a little later in the morning. We now go at 10:30 instead of 8:15. I am thankful for the extra sleep because I am so tired. So I will update you on tomorrow's visit and what will be added to my protocol tomorrow.

When I have a firm total on the funds raised yesterday, I will let you know. The part I know already was wonderful and show just how amazing people can be and how blessed we are by God! Please continue to support Rosie's in the future. No words can express my thankfulness. I just have to ask God to bless her sevenfold for the blessing Rose gave me yesterday.

It's happening so fast :)

     I am going to try and catch you all up to speed. I have been too busy to update.

Feb 20 - I started taking birth control pills, a prenatal vitamin, and metformin. I only take the birth control a number of days then stop. I will take the others for the whole cycle I believe.

Feb 25 - I ordered my medications and it was set to ship overnight. That total came to a little over $3400! Ouch!

Feb 26 - I received my medications. I added a Lupron injection to my protocol. I will take 10 units every night in the lower abdomen until i am told to decrease it.

Feb 28 - I hosted a Bunco party at Rosie's for a fundraiser. It was so much fun! I wanted to play so bad! We had great food and prizes. I am so thankful to all those that pitched in and helped make it a success!
 - I also took my last birth control pill on this day.

March 4 - Started spotting which is what should be happening. No worries!

March 6 - I am leaving in moments to go to Memphis to have my trial transfer. This will be a "practice run" for the doctors to checkout my uterus and plan where they will deposit the embryos in a couple weeks.
 - Also, Rosie's is having a fundraiser for me today. Select cupcakes will be sold to benefit us. The proceeds from all those sales will be donated to our IVF fund. We still need to raise a little less than $3000 to pay it all in full by Friday. So, please call and place your order and give them our names or go by and grab until 5 today!

Starting IVF

     I have never been so glad to finally start my cycle! I was told to call my doctor's nurse on my cycle day 1 to get my instructions and start my IVF cycle. I was excited to call and find out my next step. When I got the call back, the nurse gave me my instructions through March 8th. I will take a prenatal vitamin every day. I will start oral contraceptive (OCP...birth control) tomorrow and will continue through February 28th. I will start Lupron injections (to suppress the hypothalamic-pituitary control centers in the brain to prevent premature ovulation). I will take these injections in the lower abdomen every night starting on February 26th and continue until told otherwise. On March 8th, I will go to Memphis. My money and consent forms are due this day. My husband will have a semen analysis done in their office. I will have a sonogram, E2 (Estridiol) blood test, injection teaching and a trial transfer performed. I will also go to the surgery center to get anesthesia clearance for my egg retrieval and I will get the rest of my instructions too. Our egg retrieval will be scheduled the week of March 18th!
     I was so surprised that it will be so quick. I was also so happy to see how God is working things out. When I will be feeling the roughest and traveling to Memphis every other day, I will be on my spring break holiday. I was an emotional wreck this morning. I was excited and happy, with nerves, full of eagerness and crying too. I did an actual happy dance a couple of times in my seat at my conference today. It makes all the hard work of last week worth it! I have been working really hard to raise and save this money so I could start as soon as I got the green light. I am still $3,002.94 away for having it paid in full and its not due until March 8th. I can do this folks. God has been providing for me so much. It has blown my mind! A friend did a fundraiser for me last week and exceeded all our expectations. I even have someone, I do not even really know passing around Pampered Chef catalogs to help me raise money, and the donations from strangers is overwhelming. I have been blessed by the kindness of others!
     So I need to ask everyone I know to help me reach this goal. If you are able to help me in any way, find me on facebook, send me an email, call me. I will be doing a few more things to raise money and will be so grateful for the help. If you are planning to come to Bunco on Feb. 28th at Rosie's (6:30) Please register and pay your $20 by Feb. 24th. If you would like to gather a few Pampered Chef orders by February 28th, I have plenty of catalogs. It only takes $150 for me to place an order and my commission would be no less than $30 (two of my friends have almost earned me $500 this week). I am counting on God and the generosity of others. I don't like it to seem like I 'm begging but I'm just putting it out there. People don't know how to help if I don't. This $3,002.94 is just to cover my IVF, this doesn't even start to touch the time off and gas expenses from traveling back and forth. I hope to pay it forward one day like many people that have introduced themselves to me just because they know what it is like. Thank you and keep the prayers flowing constantly!

Getting good results

     Last Thursday, I went to get my day 3 blood work and sonogram done. I also got some other blood work done as well. He measured each ovary and my uterus and then he talked to me about sending my day 3 test for FSH, LH, AMH and Estradiol to a research program. This program is to be getting much more accurate hormone levels than most local labs. I also scheduled my appointment for my sonohysterogram for today.

    When I got there, my nurse had just received my results back from the research group and let me see them. It takes the values for FSH, Estridiol, LH, AMH, and Inhibin B and calculates and egg retrieval score. My score was a 14 which is in the good category and is average for people age 31-35. It also gave me graphs for how many eggs I am likely to produce to be retrieved. When the doctor came in he said it looked good and he though I had a really good chance with IVF.

     The sonohysterogram was not bad at all. No pain, just messy. I had in my head that the saline would be held in my uterus somehow but it actually comes out as he pushes more through the catheter. He took several images from the sonogram. There was something present in the pictures but he believed it to just be debris left over and he said it did not look like a polyp or anything that would make an embryo unable to attach. He believe the specialist would be good with it. They gave me a copy of all my results and said they would fax them to Memphis as well.

     Memphis gives you an itemized list of all blood test, procedures and classes that must be done before you have IVF and there were a few items on my list that I had not done yet. I called and double checked and the ones I have left will be done after I start the first part of your IVF protocol which is a certain number of birth control pills. She also said all of the could be scheduled all in one day since I have a longer drive. All I have to do now is wait for my next day 1! I will call them that day and get my pills! This will be a long 18 more days. I am so eager to start. I have got to slow down and be patient! J

     The only thing is. I need around $10,000 more dollars. I do not want to charge it or take out a loan. I would like to pay it out right and I know God will help provide. I will need the biggest portion in 18 days. I have got to check with her for the actual due date. I do not have to pay my surgery center fees and anesthesia fees until the day of the egg retrieval so that gives me a little bit longer to save that. I would not need it until the end of March.

I have a few things in the works to help me reach my goal:

     I have four people hosting Pampered Chef parties in February. You can host as well or 

     purchase some great cooking supplies to help me earn commission. April and Jessica are brides so if  

    you will be attending their wedding, I will have their wish lists!

     I have a friend who will be selling individually wrapped cupcakes and chocolate

     covered strawberries for Valentine’s day. I should have pictures up and order forms in

     the next two days. 

     I am planning on hosting a bunco party on February 28 (Thursday). It will be at   

     Rosie’s downtown at 6:30. $20 There will be food and prizes. You can sign up by

     shooting me a message on facebook or emailing me, I will have to have people reserve

     their spots and pre-pay to ensure I have enough people to complete the tables.

     I will possibly be doing a paint party if I can find someone who will do one as a 

     fundraiser.

I have an online fundraising site at http://www.youcaring.com/medical-fundraiser/nobabybump/25567 that can be used to pay for your Valentine’s items or for the bunco party if you need to use a debit/credit or your paypal.

Memphis and Our Decision

     Our last attempt in December again did not end in a positive pregnancy test. We did start another round of medication. My results from the CBC came back normal so my doctor did not let me take Decadron this month due to the side effects I was having. We had some trouble getting an insemination appointment since there was lots of holiday time that the office was not open and my husband was working during the day that Monday so since our Memphis consultation was on Wednesday, I decided not to make an insemination appointment and see what we would find out in Memphis.

     We traveled to Memphis this past Wednesday. The doctor met with us and went sheet by sheet through our medical records and asked questions and took notes. He first looked at my husband’s records first. We learned something new while going through them. He explained how my husband’s morphology (their formation/shape) was not good as well. The doctor told us that he only had 3 in 100 (3%) sperm formed correctly. The doctor then took one of the semen analysis results and did some math to give us and idea of how many viable sperm he would have in a sample. For that analysis, my husband only had around 7,500 viable sperm. This sounds like a lot but most people have millions. From this information, he told us we would have to do a different form of In Vitro Fertilization(IVF). One with Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI). He said we would be unable to perform standard IVF due to this low number of sperm. In standard IVF, the eggs are retrieved and the semen specimen is placed in a dish together and the sperm must penetrate and fertilize the egg on its own. When they perform this procedure, they need at least 15,000 sperm per egg. So my husband would not have enough to be placed with just one egg and we might have as many as 30 eggs. So with ICSI, individual sperm are chosen and then they are injected into the eggs.

     There are some risk we would be taking and most are the same as for any couple, but my PCOS lends me to a higher probability of suffering from Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome. Basically, the doctor explained that when you take injectable gonadotropins (which help you produce and grow multiple follicles containing eggs) there is a chance when your ovaries are growing that your ovaries keep enlarging and growing and cause some significant side effects. He told us that we might want to do a “freeze all” method. This method includes doing the same protocol as usual but when it came time to do the embryo transfer you would freeze all embryos created and wait a month to let my ovaries reduce in size and calm down. I would then return a month later to have the thawed embryos implanted.

     With this news, we looked at statistics and cost. As of 2009-2010, this center had around a 60% pregnancy rate in women my age. If we use frozen embryos then it would rise to around 67%. He did say that ICSI and frozen embryos would push us to 70% or slightly more. I asked him about the effectiveness the first time and he was hopeful and said we have those same odds and their goal is to get us pregnant the first time. As far as cost, it looks like we would need around $13,500 for one cycle including a freezing fee. If we have enough embryos to develop, the fee is only around $3,000 for a frozen embryo transfer in case we have to try again or want a second child.

     So we have decided to go with IFV at this time. We know this is not 100% but we have faith in Him! We have a few pre-screeners we must do before we can be approved for our first cycle. My husband had a current semen analysis so he only has to be tested this coming week for syphilis, HIV -1 and -2, Hepatitis B, and Hepatitis C. I will had a pap smear and CBC that was current. I will have to get test for my blood type and RH, syphilis, HIV -1 and -2, Hepatitis B, and Hepatitis C, and a rubella titer. I will also have some ovarian reserve tests. This includes tests for Follicle Stimulating Hormone (FSH) Luteinizing Hormone (LH). As well as a sonogram and blood test for Estradiol (E2) and Antimullerian Hormone (AMH) on day 3 of my next menses which will be around the 23^rd of this month. I will also have to have a sonohistogram performed between day 6 and 12.

     After these results are in, a decision will be made if we can or cannot start our first cycle. So it could possibly start mid-February. That is exciting! We just now have to work hard to secure the finances by then. So, I will be having fundraisers to help me raise $8,000 in one month since we already have around $5,000! So, if you have any ideas or would like to help me please just contact me.

    Before I end this post, let me say that I know some people do not support IVF or the freezing of embryos. We are all entitled to our thoughts and beliefs. I do want you to know that we are not entering this process with only the hopes of having a child and thinking into it any further. We know that major moral and ethical decisions must be made and we do not take those decisions lightly. We will be asking God to guide us. We must make these decisions before we start meds. This office has provided us consent forms to read so that we might discuss all the implications of certain procedures. So please pray for us as we try to make such decisions.